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Background: Many hospitals have implemented early rapid response teams to improve detection of patients at risk for decline. However, formal evaluation of these programs is rare. Objective: To evaluate the Early Nurse Intervention Team program at a large community hospital in the southeastern United States. Methods: A retrospective evaluation was performed of unplanned intensive care unit transfers, hospital length of stay, length of stay index, ventilator days, and mortality in 2 patient groups: those with and those without an Early Nurse Intervention Team nurse present. Results: There was a marked decline in unplanned intensive care unit transfers as the Early Nurse Intervention Team nurse staffing increased. There were no significant interaction or main effects for length of stay, length of stay index, ventilator days, or mortality between the 2 groups. Conclusions: This study showed a positive impact of implementation of an Early Nurse Intervention Team program, with significant savings given the cost of unplanned intensive care unit transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]